


Sunlight and the Breath of May

by Quillori



Category: English and Scottish Popular Ballads - Francis James Child, Finnish Folklore - Fandom, Inspired by Music - Fandom, Konungen och trollkvinnan | The king and the enchantress - Gjallarhorn (Song)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-20
Updated: 2013-09-20
Packaged: 2017-12-27 02:26:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/973187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quillori/pseuds/Quillori
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>'I have in mind a far-famed man,' the old woman said, her busy hands already setting up to weave another length.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sunlight and the Breath of May

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mardy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mardy/gifts).



> A translation of the [song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg9aSAHgpZA) has helpfully been provided by the recipient [here](http://maradao.livejournal.com/22879.html).

_In the forests all alone, by the lake below the river – the river springing from the mountains, water cold and clear as ice or moonlight – dwelt a woman old and wise, dwelt that woman and her daughters, singing always as they wove, wove out ells and ells of linen, piled in heaps the twelve ell lengths, lengths all measured by their singing._

'I have in mind a far-famed man,' the old woman said, her busy hands already setting up to weave another length. 'Sisu, who was born beside the storm-lashed sea. His father was a fisherman, and a luckless one at that; his mother worked unceasingly on little food, and lacked the strength to bear a child. On the day his story began, the fisherman put out in his little boat, thinking to catch the poor haul of bony fish on which they lived, but caught instead a grey dolphin, that fleet horse of the sea. He brought it home to his wife, telling her to eat it all and grow strong, but she saw that he was unwise and over hasty. Her words brought wisdom: she would not be like an animal or an outcast to go through life alone and unaided, receiving no alms and sharing nothing of her own. She divided the dolphin in parts, giving some to a neighbour even poorer than she, and the entrails to the dog that shared their hunger and guarded their door. The bones she gave to the birds of the air, throwing them up on the roof of their hut, where they were eaten by a hawk. In due time she bore a fine son, Sisu, and the neighbour, the dog and the hawk likewise a son and a puppy and a single egg: these three children of his mother's charity followed Sisu loyally and served him all the span of his life. Let us lay out the story of Sisu between us, for it is of the right length, and will last until we are done.'

The pink-cheeked Aamu, youngest of the girls, first took up the tale. 'I will tell,' she said, 'of the first story of Sisu, when he was still an untried youth. He had resolved to set out into the deep forest, accompanied only by his dog, and there kill a boar that had been the death of many great hunters. And now I begin my telling.'

The tangled branches wove so tight a net they caught the morning light, so that in the trackless forest it seemed almost that the new day was yet unborn, and formless night still spread over all the world. Only the keen-sighted Sisu and his great hound could pierce the darkness, striding with untiring vigor through the tall, straight trees, now left, now right, now left again.

At last even the dark depths of the mountain woods began to grow light, and the pattern of the trees grew slowly plain as the black night faded into the grey of morning. Everywhere life began to stir: the long-necked stoats in their fur-lined burrows, the twittering birds amongst the branches, the sharp-clawed squirrels in their dreys, and there, in the thicket, awakening among the sharp thorns, was the great boar, massive in size and muscled with the bulk of many seasons, with strength to uproot the heaviest oak, or dig a furrow deep within the bowels of the earth. Its hide was charmed against all mortal weapons, and its bristles sharp - sharper than the thorns it slept among, sharper than the sharpest needle - and tipped with death-dealing poison. Its hot, rank breath and blazing eyes struck fear into the strongest heart and with its tusks and knife-sharp hooves it gored and trampled all who challenged it, feasting on their entrails and still-beating hearts, soaking the soil with the rich blood of their youth. This one peculiarity it had, which had been the death of many, that it had not two tusks but three, the one of silver, the midmost of gold, and the last of copper. Of these three tusks it was said that the man who made the one his drinking horn, tasting nothing save from its silver depths, would be safe from all bodily infirmities: not poison only, but also those more creeping maladies of sickness and deadly age; he, moreover, who had a hunting horn made from the copper tusk would have at all times the rash courage of youth, and walk untouched by the palsied fears and helpless regrets that ensnare the old.

This was the beast then, that had delivered death to countless brave warriors, and deprived courageous hunters of their breath and blood. Again and again it pawed the ground, gouging deep into the earth and tearing up huge chunks of sod, as great as a man's head; its breath, reeking of blood and decay, blew fiercely from its vicious mouth, singeing all it touched; its screams of rage echoed unceasingly as it drove itself into a battle fury, its boiling anger ignited by the scent of a new challenger.

Bravely the hound Autu bayed in answer, his noble head held high in pride of his youth and strength, hunting out his prey as the splendid wolf comes down from the high mountains to slake his hunger on rich herds of cattle or the fleet-racing deer: just so did grey-flanked Autu track down the monstrous boar, as though it were his appointed prey. Without thought or hesitation Autu hurled himself forward upon the beast, fastening his firm jaws in the flesh of the boar's jowls, heedless of his own harm. As fast and as sure, Sisu threw himself upon the boar from behind, grasping it tight in his strong arms. At once it began to buck and rush from side to side, tearing his clothes from his body on the thorny plants. Sisu's back and legs were torn and bleeding, the blood running freely, and his ears filled with the harsh screams of the beast, like the din of battle as the dying cry out their last breath and the injured cry out for death, or like the cry of hounds to the hunted in the last moments before a score of teeth tear out the neck and belly of the fleeing game; the thick stench of rotting corpses choked his every breath. But worse than all of these, surpassing and suppressing them as things of no account, was the biting agony where the poisoned bristles pierced his body.

Racked with a fiery agony that burnt away his bones from within, his strength failing him and his sight fading, Sisu clung with desperation to the very source of his suffering, wrapping his legs around its bulk and with flailing hands grasping for its face. At last his right hand grasped the silver tusk and his left hand brushed the copper, and finding a final supply of strength he held the boar fast about its head; twisting, he threw himself to the side; his weight and Autu's combined dragged round the head of the boar, cracking its neck and dropping its lifeless carcass to the ground. Injured, his life ebbing, Sisu lay collapsed beside the body of the boar, and might have lain there till he died, but Autu licked his face and he bestirred himself, gazing with dimming eyes upon his frightful pillow, the head of the monstrous boar. Weeping in pain, his tears fell upon the silver horn; slowly, as slowly as one who dies from extreme age or at the end of long illness, he reached out and licked his salt tears from the horn. At once the pain abated and died away, his wounds healing and fading from view and his strength flooding back. Healed and whole he sprang up and set to pulling the three horns free from the boar's body: the copper that brings courage; the silver that carries life-giving health; and the gold that grants the glow of youth, so that it seemed no man bore a more handsome face, nor so lithe a body.

Thus he returned from the forest and his strength and courage were soon admired by all.

The old woman nodded her approval, her hands never still. 'You tell the story well, my girl, choosing your subject wisely, both where to start, and where to end that another story may start. Indeed, it was just as Sisu was returning from the forest depths, rejoicing in his victory, that he saw a faint light flickering in the distance, now nearer, now farther away. Intrigued, he followed it, forgetting the path, seeking only to discover the cause of so strange a thing, for at one moment the light seemed to be as a lantern, glowing warmly in welcome, and at another as the cold moonlight that creates a path over distant water; sometimes it was as the summer sun striking through the shading leaves, sometimes as a firefly dancing beneath the stars. At times he thought he had almost caught up to it, and a moment later would realize he was deceived and the inviting light was yet far distant. So he struggled on, hardly caring the direction in which he was led, until he came at last to the edge of a lake, surrounded on all sides by the tangling woods. There the light hovered, shifting and changing, far out of reach, and it seemed to him he perceived in it the ghostly form of a women, dancing a slow and solemn dance upon the surface of the water, and even upon the breath of dusk, as though the cool night air were a solid support for her lightly treading feet.

Entranced, he gazed at her, seized by wordless longing, for never had such a matchless maiden been seen by man. Happily he would have gone to her, had she called him, though it meant his death by drowning; happily he would have stayed and starved, merely to gaze upon her, but though it seemed to him at times she glanced his way, and even smiled, as the moon began to rise she faded away, growing fainter and more distant, and he was left alone.

From that time forward his heart was never free from her beauty, and in the evenings he would look out from his home, hoping to see her face in the starlight, or look towards the hearth fire as though he caught there a shadow of her form. Sometimes the winter sun, glancing across the snow, or the last rays of an autumn sunset, would pierce him like a knife, reminding him of her. But nowhere could he find her like, nowhere hair so soft and dark, nowhere skin so translucent pale, nowhere the quiet grace or the supple skill in dancing, though he sought word of such a woman everywhere, her shifting, indistinct image still somehow clear in his mind's eye. When he thought of her, his wealth and the treasures he obtained were as sand, and he treasured only her; his honour among men and the lands he hoped to obtain were as the brief morning dew, and he held her memory as dear as his life; could he have been a simple peasant, hunting forever in the forest, he would have been content, had he been able to gaze upon her. But nowhere he went could he get word of her, nor hunt out again the place where he had found her first.'

As Taru fell silent and ceased to speak of the matchless maiden, the dark eyed Ilta, eldest of the girls, next took up the tale. 'I will tell', she said, 'of the second story of Sisu, when he had already come to fame as a fighter, for after his first adventure in the forest his heart had become restless, and he was not satisfied to be strong only in body. He resolved to gain wisdom and the power of poetic singing, not just as bards sing, nor as counselors gain authority in the wisdom of their years, but as a witch or priestess, or a sorcerer, who lives outcast from men, secure in his own power. For a long time he sought a teacher, but could not find one, for men at that time preferred to live by the work of their hands, turning their minds from enchantment as a working too dangerous to be attempted, and their hearts from the true nature of things. But in the end he heard of an enchantress, who with her words could weave fate, and her name was Taika. He set out, therefore, through the deep woods towards the high mountains in search of her. And now I begin my telling.'

The night had already closed in when he came upon a hut, small but of strong construction, from which the warm light gleamed invitingly.

'I am but one man, walking alone into the night. Already the air is cold, and growing colder; already the night is dark, and growing darker. Take pity on one who lacked the sense to stay among the well-lit homes of men: give me shelter in your warm home; share with me your bread and hearth.'

Thus Sisu begged for admittance with polished courtesy. But the door was not opened, nor was he offered welcome. Instead there came a voice from within, neither young nor old, but as beautiful as a distant bell ringing over the valley. 'Why do you come to this place, you who long for the bright homes of men? The night will grow colder yet, and darker, and there shall be none to aid you, or to cheer you along the way. Hear my words and be warned: there shall be none to shelter you, though you cry for aid, promising all you possess. Surely any man who is not a fool would return at once to the home from which he came.'

So he was turned away, and continued on alone, determined to press forward and turn his back on the safety of inhabited lands. Day by day he climbed, deeper into the wild woods of the foothills, until there were no trails before him and every way seemed the same. Then he sent his great hawk Aatos to soar above him, spying out the way he should go.

In this way he continued day after day, climbing always higher, the days turning into weeks and months, until his shoes were entirely worn away and he walked with bare feet over the sharp stones and the twisting tree roots, and waded barefoot up the cold and quickly flowing streams. Often at nightfall he dined on no better fare than bark and leaves; often at morning he broke his fast with no more than a handful of grasses. Through the long, cold nights the hard ground was his bed; the grey dawn found him pillowed on jagged rocks and roots.

In time he came upon another hut, as small and as strongly built as the first, and sitting quite alone upon the mountain side, as though it were some great old tree or an outcrop of rock - a natural thing that had no commerce with the ways of men. Through every little chink and gap the inviting light glowed warm, and, seeing it, Sisu cried out involuntarily 'How black the night has been! How dark! Oh you who dwell here in this wilderness, give me your help and aid! Reach out your hand to me and let me share this light, this warmth: may you be blessed threefold for every kindness you do to me, for every kind deed you do a stranger.'

Thus Sisu begged for help. But the door did not open, nor was he welcomed in; instead from within the hut called out to him a voice like the roar of a distant waterfall above a deep lake. 'Surely the man is a fool who leaves the life he loves for the life of an outcast; no wise man he who abandons his trade and way of life to wander friendless and without support. Does the fisherman abandon his nets to search for fish on land? Does the hunter swim out to sea in search of swift running deer or fleet hares? Does the farmer go to sow grain amid the rocks or the shepherd lead his sheep from the grassy pastures? On the way you have chosen there is none to help you and no one to offer aid, and you have traveled far from the cities of men and the busy farms. Turn back while there is yet time.'

'And yet,' said Sisu, 'this is the way I have chosen to go, and I will not be dissuaded. Tell me at least how I may find Taika and gain her favour, to learn from her the richly woven words of power, the command of poetry that weaves bright words into an everlasting song. Already I have suffered much to this end, and am ready to suffer more.'

'If that is your will,' replied the voice, 'so be it then, in accordance with your desires. Take this and consider it well: the gift of the rocks is pure and cold; it speaks with the voice of unending age, and its laughter is new born at every instant. Only to those is it given who have mastered the air, who see all things unfold beneath their unwavering gaze and rise untouched above them. Your polished words spring from the heart; aspire then to something beyond speech.'

Sisu pondered these words at length, turning them in his mind as he journeyed on yet higher into the mountains. At last he came out beyond the tall trees of the wild forest, and the mountain lay bare before him, reaching yet further up, crag upon crag and cliff upon cliff, impassible to mortal man.

'Go then,' he told Aatos, 'fly undaunted forth and find the highest peak; find there some ancient spring, where the sweet water still wells in endless birth, and bear it back to me.'

Upwards flew the hawk, on untiring wings, until the crags and cliffs fell away and he could see both the mountains and the towns alike, until those signs of human habitation were doll-like and small, and then until the vanished quite; on and upwards he flew, until all the land lay like a map beneath him, and down again, arrow swift, as a heavy stone sinks into a still lake, to perch upon the highest peak and taste the quick flowing water of life.

This he brought back to the waiting Sisu, who bathed himself with it, sprinkling it on his body and drinking handfuls from his cupped hands. Then he saw again a small hut on the bare mountainside, and it seemed to him it had always been there, its welcoming light spilling out like the morning sun.

'Greetings,' he cried, 'greetings to you who dwell in this distant place, far from the homes of men. Gladly have I journeyed here, and with what joy arrived! It seems to me I have never trodden a finer road, nor travelled through such splendid lands, for by the victory shall be judged the fight, and by the ending all travail: soft was my bed and sweet my food; quickly the days flew past. Before I stumbled blindly, confusing bad and good together, but now, clear eyed, I see all at its proper value and in its true proportion.'

'Welcome, then,' replied the voice, 'have entrance and be taught.' And Sisu entered in to receive the instruction he had desired.  
The old woman nodded her approval, never ceasing her weaving. 'You tell the story well, my girl, choosing your subject with skill. Everyone had heard by now of Sisu's defeat of the monstrous boar, and said that there was no man like him in the world for strength and courage. When he had done with Taika's lessons and returned to the paths of men, his judgement came also to be admired, for it seemed as though he could see the future, so accurate was his counsel, and his speech was beautiful to the ear and persuasive as a harper's song. He began to gather around him other men of good character who accepted him as their leader, and his power and influence grew greater.

Chief among his followers, and the most renowned for their nobility, were the high-souled Jalo, whose splendor shone like the sun, and the gracious Armo, who with his own wealth clothed the needy, but out of all the well-born and admirable throng who gathered round him, Sisu still treasured most the companionship of his childhood friend Aapeli, the son of his mother's neighbor, who followed him not only as his sworn man, but from lifelong bonds of love.

It was to Aapeli he first disclosed his mind, saying that something still seemed lacking, some accomplishment he had yet to achieve.

'Indeed,' said Aapeli, 'you have already youth and strength, wit and power, and the acclaim of men, yet there remains much further you could achieve. Do you desire wealth, for your own comfort or to gain the name of a liberal host? Already all men speak well of you, but do they give you precedence in all things, acknowledging your status? Are you a wise leader, who benefits his family and his people, leading them always on to greater strength, such that your name will be remembered with honour? There are many goals to which a man can aim, and many battles he may choose to fight, but a man who wanders aimlessly, without thought, is truly lost.'

'What then would you advise?' asked Sisu.

'You have about you admirable men, widely famed. Weigh up their counsel as a store of gold.'

And so Sisu called about him his followers and spoke to the best of them. First to approach was the noble Jalo, resplendent in the finest linen, his nobility of character shining from his handsome face. 'You who are first among us must be pre-eminent in all things: never let an ignoble thought trouble your heart, nor commit a shameful act, even in secrecy, for you are never far from the judgement of your own soul. While you are yet vigorous and strong, set to achieving grand acts that will last to your credit when your life's measure runs out.'

This advice pleased Sisu, and he considered what further acts of courage he could commit. Meanwhile Armo approached, the most graceful and most gracious of his companions. 'The joy of plenty is in the giving; blessed is the wealth we freely spend on others. No man goes from my door in rags or hungry, and likewise the wealth of much-achieving youth is to be expended in the aid of others. What man would measure out his life so meanly there was nothing to spare for others? And homespun cloth for two is finer than the finest linen, if the linen moulders unused, locked in some storeroom chest.'

This advice also was pleasing to Sisu, but before he could choose a course, he was approached by the much-respected Launo, a man of mature judgement and much dignity, whose thoughts were of the laws and proper ways; his mind moved always with the speed and order of the quick-moving loom. 'The man who would lead must respect the unchanging ways of his people, and the due forms of the law. From storm and from flood and from fire, and from the monsters that breed in the dark forests, beyond the cultivated lands of civilised men, our lives are always in danger, and sickness and hunger stalk always through the shadows: it is the glory and the strong protection of men that we alone of all creatures band together and labour for mutual gain and protection, not by bonds of kin or by blind instinct, but knowingly and by reason, each in their proper place, to please the gods and benefit each other.'

And after Launo came also Onni, whose light heart and gaiety made all rejoice and lightened even the deepest sorrow. 'It is well and well to think of others, to give the needed gift and to bow your neck to the yoke of duty, and to these things in season you should pay your due, but think also of yourself, and live so that your life may be like the fields in spring, carpeted by a tapestry of flowers, or a rich autumn scene, detailed with rich designs of plenty; make of your life a thing of joy and beauty, that all who see it will enjoy, and enjoy it too yourself, for to each of us is given only the one life.'

And turning to Launo he reproved him, saying 'Do not make of us mere pawns, moving by rule in an appointed order. What benefit is a long life if it have no joy?' And to Armo, 'The man who would give must first himself have; only those who live for themselves have enough to spare for others.' And again to Jalo, 'I would not quarrel with nobility, but it is poor fare on its own. Life's common pleasures are no light thing to turn aside, and the horse that is ridden to battle must first be fed on grain.' And at last again to Sisu, 'Do not be like the weaver who shivers in shabby clothes, ill made and rough, while others go forth in fine and noble dress.'

To all this advice Sisu gave such thought as seemed good to him, but his active spirit would not brook too long a contemplation, and he longed for quick action. Where then might he find a cause that would bring him wealth and honour, noble in itself and of benefit to others? At last his thoughts settled on the great troll that held court in the low mountains, rich in treasure and a danger to men: him he would defeat, and thus gain status, and wealth and safety also for his people, while for himself seeking out immortal fame.

Taru fell silent and ceased to speak, then Päivi, whose face is as fair as day, took up the tale. 'I will tell,' she said, 'of the third story of Sisu, when he was a man coming into his prime. He set out, following his resolve, to challenge the troll king and see what wealth he could win. And now I begin my telling.'

Sisu set out, accompanied only by Aapeli, and reached the court of the troll king. This fortress was strongly built of stone, and filled with every sort of treasure: all the riches of ancient days that have been lost to men. At a word from Sisu the gateway appeared, barred by an oak door blackened by age. To this door Sisu spoke with courtesy, recalling the days of its youth, when it had been a slender green sapling, swaying in the breeze, and it gave way before him. The stone corridors that opened out within were like a maze, like the labyrinth that is trodden by dancers, or like tangled skeins of wool before they are sorted. No man could see their end, or predict their turns, but Sisu undaunted blew upon his copper horn and discerned his route from the echo, striding with sure steps to the central hall at the heart of the mountain. There he challenged the troll king, declaring himself able to overcome all tasks he might be set, if he were granted a commensurate prize.

'It shall be so,' declared the troll, his voice as loud as the crash of thunder over the mountains, or a great tree when it falls suddenly, no longer able to bear the weight of its years. 'Five tasks I will set you, and much wealth will you win by them, or else if you lose, then so much shall I be the richer, taking from you all of value you possess. For the first, go without delay to the track around the lake beyond these walls, and there select a horse and I shall do likewise. But, be warned, never yet have I been beaten in a race, for there is none so swift as the steeds of my stable.'

At this Sisu set off at once, full of determination. He had gone neither a long way nor a short way, and the lake was not yet in view, when he came upon the fairest horse he had ever seen: never in song or dream had any conceived of so shining and fair a beast, more beautiful to the eye than a field of wheat or young village girls at their dancing; it was like a drink of cool water to a man who dies of thirst. Gently it approached Sisu and paused before him, indicating he should mount it, and for sake of its beauty Sisu would have done so at once, unable to deny so lovely a creature, but Aapeli seized him by the shoulder and would not let him go forward, saying to him urgently, 'Think! You were told to choose a horse only by the lake, and the lake is not in sight. The troll king is a creature of many deceits, and it may be that the first task is not the race but to arrive safely and correctly at the track. But as to how you may pass this horse, I do not know, for when I look upon it my eyes are dazzled and I can no longer reason clearly.'

Realizing the truth of his friend's words, Sisu drew out his silver horn and held it so the horse perceived its own reflection. At once the spell was broken and they could pass on. They had gone but a little way further, and the lake was visible only in the farthest distance, when they came upon a horse so brutish and ugly it struck horror into all that saw it: neither in fearsome tale nor in the panicked terrors of the night had any conceived of so foul a beast, more loathsome to the eye than the wild birds feasting after a battle, or the fat white grubs writhing in a grave. Inexorably it stalked Sisu and blocked his way, indicating he should mount it, and by reason of its ugliness Sisu would have done so at once, his mind paralyzed by its hideous form, but Aapeli seized him by the shoulder and would not let him go forward, saying to him urgently, 'Think! The lake is still barely in sight, and it cannot be good for you to mount upon such a beast as this. But as to how you may pass it, I do not know, for when I gaze upon it my mind is seized by horror and I can no longer reason.'

Brought back to himself by his friend's words, Sisu again drew out his silver horn and showed to the horse its own reflection - at once the spell was broken and they passed on. Hardly had they proceeded further, and the lake still lay some way before them, when they came upon a third horse, this one of great size and strength, as strong as the spring flood that bears all away before it, or the landslide that carries off all that stands against it. Unmovable, it stood before them, its hooves digging huge craters into the ground, and the impatient flick of its tail enough to flatten trees. Sisu saw no choice but to mount it, for it was far stronger than him and would not let him past, but Aapeli seized him and prevented it, saying to him, 'I do not think we are yet at the lake, and I like this horse no more than the two before, but as to how you may pass it, I do not know, for its strength is greater than ours.'  
Sisu too could see no solution, and stood there at an impasse while the court of the troll king came down from the fortress to gather round the lake, and the fine horses of the troll king's stables, and the king himself, and all were assembled except for Sisu and Aapeli, who stood still upon the path and did not know what to do. Only at the very end, long after everyone else had passed, one final creature came slowly down towards them. It was the last and youngest of the troll king's horses, so small and weak that it was of no interest to the keeper of the stables. Hardly more than a colt, with a misshapen back and a strange gait, its coat the unlucky grey that brings its rider misfortune, it was left to make its own way, uncared for and overlooked. Nevertheless it kept to the centre of the path, making its determined way towards the lake, and, wonder of wonders!, the giant horse confronted with the weak became nervous, twitching its ears and stamping, then backing away as though it feared to touch it, and Sisu and Aapeli were able to get by, following close behind the little grey horse.

'Few before have reached the lake,' cried the troll king, his eyes flashing like devouring fire. 'Choose then your horse, and for your skill I will grant you not first choice only but also half the lake's length head start.'

The horses thronged together, fair and foul, strong and weak, ruddy and dun and dark. Hard it was to choose the fastest, so fine and fleet were they all. But Sisu put his hand upon the little grey horse, and said he would have no other but the one who had already aided him. His choice pleased the troll king little, and he was loath to start the race, offering now one horse and now another in place of the little grey, until Sisu lost patience and said they must race at once or declare him the victor by forfeit, and that moreover he was prepared to race not the troll king only but all his herd, if they would but make a beginning. At this the troll king had not choice but to send Sisu and his grey across the lake, and he himself mount upon his fastest horse, surrounded by all the rest, and cry out the start. Faster than the swooping hawk and fleeter than the running deer, the horses of the troll king sped round the lake, and at their head the king himself, so fast he could outrun fire as it leaps from bough to bough; slowly the little grey horse ambled, unconcerned and unhurried as the waves that lap the shore in some sheltered bay. Hardly had a moment passed when the troll king's horse swept by, and as it passed, Sisu dealt it a great blow across its back with a heavy stick he carried; likewise he treated all the rest. No more than another moment had passed and the troll king was approaching the end of the course, but there, no more than three paces from the finish, stood Aapeli, who cast down upon the ground another stick, the likeness of the one held by Sisu, and as they reached it the horses shied and turned aside, and would not pass it, so that eventually Sisu came up and passed them and ambled on to receive the victory.

'Few or none before have won such a race as this,' cried the troll king, his voice as cold as the bones of the earth. 'But many tasks remain before you. Take then this horse here, the dearest to my heart, and bathe and comb it, and lead it to stable, and then we will discuss what remains for you to do.'

But Sisu remembered Aapeli's advice, and thought it likely this itself was a task, and that some harm might well befall him if he approached the horse unwarily. He therefore took the reins from the little grey horse and used them to bind tightly the mouth of the troll king's horse, at which it became at once docile and calm, and suffered itself to be bathed and combed and led to stable.

'None before have reached this point,' cried the troll king, 'for my horse eats living flesh, and will devour any man into whom it can sink its sharp teeth. But the way you have chosen is hard and thickly set with snares, and victory yet far off. Hear now of the tasks you must yet perform,' he commanded, and his voice had the power and grandeur of the rushing wind. 'There are three horses I have freed from my stable and set loose to run at will. Bring them safe back to me before the sun has set if you wish to have hope of winning.'

At this Sisu and Aapeli were sorely puzzled, for they could see no trace of any of the three horses, nor had they any idea which way to look first.

'Well,' said the troll king, much amused at their discomfiture, 'you are not so boastful now. But I shall take pity on you, and tell you where each one ran. For the first, you cannot miss it, for its delight is in fire. As for the other two, there will be time enough to consider them if you can find the first.'

Sisu and Aapeli together looked this way and that, but they could make nothing of the troll king's words, and still did not know which way to look. Just then the little grey horse came up to them and nudged Sisu towards the east, at which he realised that a horse which delighted in fire would love the sunrise that lights up the dead sky with its flames. Leaping upon the little grey, he rode east and east until there sprang up before him a great wall of flame, so tall it lapped the heavens. But the grey horse went on unconcerned, and walked unscathed through the fire, which sputtered out around it as though the sea itself had been poured upon it. Beyond the wall of flame the first horse was grazing peacefully, and it was no work for Sisu to catch it and bring it home.  
'For the second,' the troll king said, 'it is at home with seeds and bones, and so its direction should be plain to you.'

Again Sisu and Aapeli could make nothing of the troll king's riddle until the little grey horse nudged Sisu towards the west, at which he realised that seeds and bones are buried, and that a horse that loved the dark earth would hurry towards the west, where the dark night waits. Setting off again upon the little grey, Sisu rode west and west until he came to a great mound, where there was no sign at all of the second horse. But the grey struck the ground with its hoof and a great chasm opened up, as the sea carves some great fjord, or the river a ravine, and into this it entered without fear. At the heart of the mound was a field in which the second horse was grazing peacefully, and it was little work for Sisu to catch it and bring it home.

'For the third,' the troll king said, frowning, 'its love is neither dawn nor dusk, although it approves of fire and seeds alike. Pure are the meadows it prefers'

This riddle seemed to Sisu the hardest yet, and he and Aapeli discussed it between them without result. At last Sisu thought that if its preference was for neither dawn nor dusk it was perhaps a creature of the day, and Aapeli agreed, saying that the fire was the great fire of the sun, and the seeds were not those that remained buried, but those that sprouted into life, growing towards the light. And yet which way were they to search? Neither north nor south had more appeal, and what pastures were noted for their purity? At last the little grey horse nudged Sisu again, pointing upwards towards the sky, where the white clouds drifted. Springing upon his back, Sisu was amazed to find he was born up into the air, higher than the wandering sea birds, to the white fields on which the third horse grazed.

Now Sisu lead the three horses before the troll king, proud of his success.

'Very well,' the troll king said, 'I see you are as wise and skillful as you claim, and deserve a fitting reward. I have among my herd a horse of such talents and character that none who ride him part from again in this life, and this horse I shall make a gift of to you, in recompense for your trials.'

This horse being led before them, richly caparisoned, wheat springing up from its hoof prints and gold falling from the air as the movement of its tail, its breath as sweet as spring meadows and its coat gleaming like silk, Sisu longed for it at once with all his heart, and stepped forward to take possession and mount it at once, when Aapeli again stopped him, pleading with him to show caution. 'For,' Aapeli pointed out, 'by my count we are at four tasks only and already the king has tried to trick you twice. And what sort of horse is it that no rider parts from alive?'

So Sisu was advised by him, and turned his back upon the horse, saying to the troll king that if it was in truth time to speak of rewards he would have the little grey horse and none other in its place, no matter how enchanted. At this fury came upon the troll king, and he swelled up to great size, terrible to look upon.

'Had you only accepted the horse I gave you, and mounted upon it, you would never again have been able to dismount, but been forced to ride and ride until you met your death, and so I would have been quit of you. But now I am forced to recompense you in truth, and give up to you the ten best horses in my stables, that you have already met: the fairest and the ugliest and the strongest, the fleetest and the little slow grey you so desire, the horse that feeds on flesh, and those of fire and of earth and of air, and the enchanted horse none can dismount also, and with them each a mare, of the same kind and temperament, to make twenty in all. And do you, Sisu, take as much joy in them as you may, for as long as you are able, for in time they will all come back to me, every last one, for all you can do to prevent it.'

And so Sisu and Aapeli led back the twenty horses from the troll king's castle, and no king among men had such a stable as Sisu's.

As the one girl finished speaking, another took up the thread, and sweet-voiced Aamu, beautiful as dawn, continued the tale. 'I will tell,' she said, 'of the marriage Sisu made, for he was by now a renowned ruler, and the time was ripe for him to marry. He wore always an ornament made from the golden tusk, and all women looked with love upon him, but he would have none of them.'

Now one girl was proposed to him and now another, but none were to his liking. Onni proposed the light-hearted Seija, whose beauty bloomed like the spring and whose character was as sweet to the taste as ripe berries; Sisu admired her unaffected ways but said she never lifted her eyes to the horizon, and he would not marry a woman who longed for nothing. Jalo proposed the highborn Aliisa, whose hair was as golden white as the summer sun and whose soul was as strong and noble as the bare trees that withstand the winter storms. Armo praised the maiden Anja, who was loved by all for her kindness and warmth of heart, and Launo spoke of Henna, a most worthy bride - but Sisu dismissed them all, finding this fault or that, and it may be that his heart still lay in the distant forest depths, where the will-o'-the-wisps dance over the water. His men argued amongst themselves, unable to agree what lady would be best.

Eventually Aapeli said he had heard of a maiden in a distant land, well-born and well brought up, both beautiful and good, and on her everyone could agree, so Sisu set out across the sea to court her and to bring her home.

He came upon the maiden Ansa weaving in her mother's hall, and the sunlight fell on her golden hair. How richly she was dressed! Everything about her was befitting a princess, and there was a belt of woven gold binding her slim waist. Every virtue attended her and the curve of her smile or the glance of her eye was a snare for every heart; a lover might become lost in the tangle of her hair.

Softly he spoke to her, respecting her shyness and youth: he had brought her rings, cunningly wrought, and mittens embroidered all over with charms for her protection, and these things were hers whether she would have him or not. If only she would return with him as his wife! He had many such treasures he would lay at her feet, enough that she would not consider herself too cheaply bought.

Gently he spoke to her, acknowledging her birth and beauty: he had brought her brooches for her winter robes, that she might walk through any weather, and sharp knives incised with words of power, for he desired her to understand she came to him not as a servant, dependent on his hall and strength, but to share his kingdom as queen. The lands he had come to rule were dear to him, and the respect in all men's eyes, and these things he would share with her if she came with him over the sea.

'Many men have asked for me,' the maiden said, 'and to none have I given assent, but you offer generously for my hand, and I will go with you over the sea if you will agree to my conditions: there are three things I cannot stand in any man, and I will not leave my mother's house for anyone who will not forswear them.

'I despise the man of senseless appetite: like a cur in the street feeding on rubbish, like a wanton bitch in heat, so are men who seek to slake their bodies' hunger. I despise the man whose thoughts are cruel, who thinks himself too high above his fellows: his claws tear into weaker men, and he harries and hunts them without regret. Also I despise the man who is loyal only as he chooses, impelled by the whims of his heart: he has no regard for duty or for his lord, but wanders like an outlaw, untrusted by men of sense. Be you always unlike these three, and put from you all such temptation, and you may have your will.'

And so Sisu brought Ansa back across the seas, swearing to abide by her conditions, and they began to live happily and rule their people well. But one day a man of monstrous appearance and great power appeared, terrorizing the land, taking whatever seemed good to him and killing without effort the bravest warrior. Sisu went at once to arm himself, saying that, be it man or be it beast, he would not brook such behaviour, but his wife took his armour away from him with her own fair hands, and told him she would not live with a man who gave way to animal fury, overmastered by anger.

Many men rose up to face the challenge, confident in their strength and numbers, but all became carrion, given up to the crow and the wolf and the worm. Once more Sisu prepared to face the giant, enchanting his sword and his knife and his arrows with powerful spells, but his wife took his weapons from him, kissing his hands and begging him not to think that because he saw farther and deeper than other men he was better than they, or deserving of a different fate.

The fields grew thorns, abandoned by farmers, and no man dared go forth to hunt or fish, no women to bring water from the well. The land looked as though it had been struck by plague, and there seemed no help from any quarter, but Ansa knelt at her husband's feet, knowing well the resolve he held in his heart. Still she bid him listen to her counsel: 'I know your every mood,' she said, 'and that you go not just from pride but from duty also, yet the laws and customs of our land bind you as well as any other. Be advised by me and accept the limits of what you may achieve - no good will come to you from this fight. I fear where your way will lead, led far astray from the proper path.' But Sisu looked out over his hard won lands, seeing the suffering about him, and hardened his heart to his wife, going out to face whatever fate might befall him.

As the one girl finished speaking, another took up the thread, and quiet-voiced Ilta, beautiful as the star-strewn night, continued the tale. 'I will tell,' she said, 'of the battle Sisu fought, attempting to protect his lands and people, hoping to achieve unscathed victory.'

As Sisu walked through the deserted fields he came upon a croaking raven and addressed it, telling it to follow him if it desired to be fed, for there would be food aplenty, whatever the outcome. A little while later, by the wall of an empty farmhouse, he came upon a little red fox, and spoke to it likewise. Coming to the edge of the dark wood, he saw in the shadows a grey wolf, and gave it the same words. Then before him he saw the brigand, giant in size and as much a beast as a man. They rushed together fiercely and began to fight, matching their strength and their skill, equal in desire to win.

The morning had already passed when Sisu wrestled the giant to his knees, at which the creature cried out against him, cursing his lands:

'May your plough-horses fall dead, a feast for flies in summer! May your cows give no milk, no cheese, may their goodness spill and be wasted on the thirsty earth! May your fat sheep not find their pasture and feed instead the beasts of the forest!'

Still Sisu kept fighting, untouched by fear, and hot noon had given way to evening chill before he had wrestled the giant onto his back, at which the marauder cried out again, cursing his followers:

'May your men's swords shatter in their hands! May their war-horses stumble! May all who follow you be food for wolves!'

Still Sisu strove to complete his mastery, and the night was well through when he got his knife to the giant's throat. The monstrous man cried out a final time against him:

'May the needle turn against the sewer and may the wife turn against the husband! May the land not know its master!'

But Sisu plunged his knife deep into the giant's neck, spilling his blood to soak into the dark soil. He called the raven to him and fed it upon the unseeing eyes of the slain. He cut from the corpse its most private parts and fed them to the fox. He let the wolf feed as it pleased upon the dishonoured body.

'May your curses fall short, sent without sight, woven without the power to harm, the meaningless murmur of an animal that dies without ceremony and has no burial place.'

So Sisu strove to turn aside the giant's wishes, hoping to render them harmless, but it was a solemn and silent city that saw him return: there was no cheering at their salvation, but a whisper ran from man to man that their king had disfigured his enemy's corpse, that he had used foul sorcery in his fighting, that he and the creature had been but two of a kind, disagreeing over their spoils. And within the walls of his warm house his wife turned her face from him, and her heart held no laughter to share with him, silent and resentful that he had not obeyed her bidding and had scorned to keep his word.

As the one girl finished speaking, another took up the thread, and clear-voiced Päivi, beautiful as the light of day, continued the tale. 'I will tell,' she said, 'of the advice Sisu took when his own foresight failed him.'

Having tried to turn aside the giant's curse, to the very limits of his skill and knowledge, Sisu still felt its bonds about him and its poison working. Slowly life and health returned to his lands and his people, but nothing was as it had been before, and when he looked ahead, considering the future, his thoughts became tangled and indistinct, and confusion dulled his quick mind. At times he tried to speak with his wife, the excellent Ansa, but she turned her face away and answered only that he was king and should do as he thought best. His friends and advisors stood around him as before, but none would meet his eye, and although they all spoke to him with studied respect, none would share their deeper thoughts.

One day there came to him a rumour telling of a woman living alone and set apart: some said she was an old crone, who had seen as many ages come and go as the long-lived crows, others that she was a troll who had taken only the appearance of a human; perhaps she was a powerful enchantress, or then again some spirit of the land - no one could say with certainty, though all were certain of her knowledge, and that men's fates lay spread clearly before her sight. Therefore Sisu resolved to go to her, and see what would come of their conversation.

Although the hut where she dwelt was small and simple, the woman herself was as richly dressed as a queen, and it seemed to Sisu that he had seen her like somewhere before, though whether he was reminded of his own wife, or the pink cheek of some forgotten village girl, or the dark hair of some nobleman's wife, he could no longer bring to mind. Gravely she welcomed him and bid him enter, and it had been long since he spoke with one so learned or so wise, so that he found himself regretting the turns his path had taken, that he had not stayed on the full length of his life studying in the high mountains, where he could have had such converse every day; somehow, too, the haunting echo her beauty taught him to be dissatisfied with decisions long since taken, filling his heart with the memory of something he couldn't now name or quite recall.

At last he asked whether the curse lay upon his people, his land, his friends; whether his wife would fall to its sickness; whether his followers would fall in battle, their weapons broken, and she answered as he had hoped, setting his mind at rest.  
'But,' she said, 'you have yet to ask all that is in your heart. I have told you the flies shall not feast in summer, and the wolves go hungry; shall I tell you of the third curse also?'

'If you know my heart so well,' Sisu replied, 'I would prefer to know whether to feed it upon hope: can what I long for yet come to pass?'

At this the woman laughed, as light and free as the playful breeze at dusk, or water newly springing from the rock. 'Will the wild deer walk willingly down a city street, or a forest bird fly untamed to the falconer's arm? If you seek, seek in the proper place, and do not expect fish to fly or the light of the sun to warm a buried cavern. You are of an age to learn some things remain impossible.'

'And yet,' said Sisu, 'I have acquired impossibilities before, and put them to do my bidding.'

'Twenty of them in total, as I have heard, but the end of that has already been told to you, and you will not escape it.'

Sisu thought on this a while, calling to mind his life's account. 'I see I must be satisfied,' he said at last, 'with what measure of success I have achieved: a peaceful land of plenty and to be remembered in my people's prayers.'

'I hope,' the lady said, 'that you do not look for gratitude as well: those who do their duty find at the end their duty done, no more than that, and that should be enough, or else you should have chosen to walk some other path.'

The old woman nodded her approval, her nimble hands falling still on the shuttle. 'You have told the story well, my girls, from the start to the end; between us we have laid out the right length in our weaving, and the tale is done.'

_In the dark and gloomy forest, by the springs of life and death, dwells a woman and her daughters, dwells the weaver who records – weaving always as she tells – rushing time in days and nights, time that banks up dawn on dawn, time that tells the short-lived tales, bounded each by birth, by death._

**Author's Note:**

> I fear this was only Finnish in the most superficial way - one would have thought, with the extensive research that has been done on Finnish folklore, that I would have turned out to have access to more of it than was in fact the case. On the other hand, my prompt did suggest bringing out the relationship to English ballads such as The Three Ravens, with which I am far more familiar; I tried to refer in particular to such ballads as have variants found also in Finland, particularly The Maid and the Palmer (for some of the incidental details of the second story) and the curses from the Finnish version of the The Maid Freed from the Gallows.
> 
> The title is taken from The Spinner, by Mary Ainge De Vere, not because I think it's a great poem, but because it was very apt and made a good title.
> 
> While researching for this story, I came across a source, admittedly Icelandic rather than Finnish, which has twelve ells as the price of grave.


End file.
